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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
This was fun. I like what a smartmouth she is, and I like the medical detail/nurses eye-view. It is a bit disorienting not knowing what city she's in--is it Providence RI? (Providence is a generic enough concept that have a hospital named Providence does not nail down the city as far as I'm concerned, especially with basically zero local color or reference points.) Or is it some unknown city where they talk about the highways like they're in California but where the weather is not like California at all? One of the things I enjoy about UF is the way it takes familiar real-world settings and messes with them. I really like serious world building. I didn't find enough of that here to suit my taste. Perhaps things get more detailed in later books. Now, this may seem like a small concern, and by some reckoning certainly is. Yet I am a reader who reads for immersion rather than for action per se. If you'd like a reference point to help you decide if you might like this book, I do not click with Kate Daniels at all, nor Ilona Andrews; I adore Dresden Files, Jane Yellowrock, Mercy Thompson, and Ben Aaronovitch/Peter Grant. Hope that's useful. All that said, I did find the characters and tone of Nightshifted appealing enough that I may read further in the series at some point.
4.5 Stars.
This was the first book by Cassie Alexander and it won't be the last!
The world the author created was different from what I've come to expect with supernatural stories. Edie is a regular human who happens to work on Y4, a floor where supernaturals come for treatment (sometimes against their will). She accidentally causes the death of a vampire-type patient and that's where her life takes a turn for the worse.
I liked the portrayal of nursing in this book. It was technical without being too confusing and it offered some insight into the nursing profession (though, I do imagine most nurses don't deal with the supernatural). The jargon flowed well with the story without sounding out of place.
I quite liked Edie. She's doing her best with what life has given her. She doesn't let all of life's punches destroy her, but she never comes off as too Polly-Anna or naively optimistic.
The story is graphic (it is set in a hospital primarily), there is violence, and there are some scenes of a steamy nature.
All in all, I hope the second one comes out soon. I'd quite like to read it.
I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was the first book by Cassie Alexander and it won't be the last!
The world the author created was different from what I've come to expect with supernatural stories. Edie is a regular human who happens to work on Y4, a floor where supernaturals come for treatment (sometimes against their will). She accidentally causes the death of a vampire-type patient and that's where her life takes a turn for the worse.
I liked the portrayal of nursing in this book. It was technical without being too confusing and it offered some insight into the nursing profession (though, I do imagine most nurses don't deal with the supernatural). The jargon flowed well with the story without sounding out of place.
I quite liked Edie. She's doing her best with what life has given her. She doesn't let all of life's punches destroy her, but she never comes off as too Polly-Anna or naively optimistic.
The story is graphic (it is set in a hospital primarily), there is violence, and there are some scenes of a steamy nature.
All in all, I hope the second one comes out soon. I'd quite like to read it.
I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really enjoyed this book! It had a great storyline and awesome characters. Edie an average nurse most people didn’t notice her except the supernatural ones did. Those who worked in y4 dealt with the things your average human wouldn’t even believe existed. There was even a doomed relationship with a zombie when she was trying to find a vampire to help save her life. This is a series I want to continue reading . I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
I love the premise - vampires, werewolves (etc.) and zombies live among us under some sort of covenant. You don't bother us and we don't bother you, kind of thing. And that's fine. But of course even paranormal creatures get sick, and so they end up on Ward Y4, underground in County Hospital.
Edie is the newbie there, and she's doing quite well. Until she forgets to re-restrain a patient's right hand, and that hand manages to pull out his ET tube (not deliberately, but flailing wildly due to his condition) and therefore dies. But with his last breath he enjoins Edie to "Save Anna". And that's when all the fun begins.
This is a great read - it has a fast pace, plenty of wry humour, terrific paranormals, and a sassy tone.
Edie is the newbie there, and she's doing quite well. Until she forgets to re-restrain a patient's right hand, and that hand manages to pull out his ET tube (not deliberately, but flailing wildly due to his condition) and therefore dies. But with his last breath he enjoins Edie to "Save Anna". And that's when all the fun begins.
This is a great read - it has a fast pace, plenty of wry humour, terrific paranormals, and a sassy tone.
I really enjoyed this debut novel from this author. Edie is very real to me. The book was not perfect, but all the good more than made up for the not so good.
I hope Edie decides to learn German at some point.
I hope Edie decides to learn German at some point.
This is the first book in the Edie Spence series.
This looks to be a decent series that I could get into reading. The MC is just been introduced to the "other" world out there, working the night shift at the county hospital. She hasn't been there long when a patient dies under her watch, and leads here to "Save Anna" but she has to figure out who that is and where she is. Once she does, there is a short fight where she kills a vampire. Now the 'council' is taking her to trial for that death, which will mean her death unless she can find Anna and save them both. Add in the beings called the Shadows that govern the hospital and other things that go wrong, and a mission they force on the MC as well.
Definitely had some nice twist and turns I wasn't expecting. World build was nice, and the introduction of those that we don't want to know about, and those that we just don't want to meet. Throw in some romance scenes - because we all need that - though not long and steamy, somewhat straight to the descriptive sex (in my opinion). The book could be read as a stand-alone, and I feel like each book in this series may be the same. Definitely will be reading the next one.
This looks to be a decent series that I could get into reading. The MC is just been introduced to the "other" world out there, working the night shift at the county hospital. She hasn't been there long when a patient dies under her watch, and leads here to "Save Anna" but she has to figure out who that is and where she is. Once she does, there is a short fight where she kills a vampire. Now the 'council' is taking her to trial for that death, which will mean her death unless she can find Anna and save them both. Add in the beings called the Shadows that govern the hospital and other things that go wrong, and a mission they force on the MC as well.
Definitely had some nice twist and turns I wasn't expecting. World build was nice, and the introduction of those that we don't want to know about, and those that we just don't want to meet. Throw in some romance scenes - because we all need that - though not long and steamy, somewhat straight to the descriptive sex (in my opinion). The book could be read as a stand-alone, and I feel like each book in this series may be the same. Definitely will be reading the next one.
I may have had my expectations to high for this book, but there was so much good here and so much bad. A part of me thinks I should read the next book to see if the growing pains of a new series smooth out but I suspect the things I hate will only be compounded.
On the plus side the character idea is interesting. Edie has a real job as a nurse. How often do you see that? Basically never. The medicine isn't too bad, and the author must either be in the medical field or have done some serious research. My one medical issue was the tranq gun loaded with propofol. While I can't speak to the other drug used, propofol is in fact a fast acting sedative. When it's given IV. A tranq gun into the muscle full of propofol is not going to drop you, unless the human medical world has some formulation we don't in the veterinary world, which I sincerely doubt. So, fun, real job, vs. fake stuff pulled out of nowhere - like it. The world itself is pretty interesting, even if the vampire politics thing is getting very old. The author brings in shifters, werewolves, zombies, dragons and more, so there's room for things to grow, but nothing really new or interesting is done, which is fine, I'm over it.
Oh, the cons list - there will be spoilers, I will mark the biggies. The character is TSTL. It's been a while since I've pulled that one out, but my god! She gets bit by a patient, which I guess as a veterinarian I see the risk, but when you're working with scary creatures you get paranoid and you are much more likely to be bitten by the ones that look sweet one minute and are killers the next. Not 10 pages later she's wandering into the ghetto, alone, with basically no protection. TSTL. When another character tries to say she's under a compulsion she says nope, I just make mistakes. Those aren't mistakes. Those are stupid, stupid, stupid actions.
Edie also exhibits one of my least favorite UF character traits that I hate beyond words: she has NO friends. The excuse is made that she's not good at friends. Considering, besides the stupidity, she has no weird social hang ups, the only real excuse is laziness on the part of the writer. Giving your character no friends is not character development.
So, this chick with no friends then goes out to the club, alone, right after she gets out of the hospital. As a woman, can I just say, wtf? Your average woman would never consider this. Ever been to a club and seen a woman there alone? Because I have NEVER seen this, ever. She has no money, she's poor (how does a nursing job that has only a small pool of employees to pull from and requires specialized training and is funded by richy-rich vampires not pay well??), but she goes to a club. She doesn't drink, she just dances. She picks up a random dude of course. Favorite line: "I walked back to him, making sure my hips rolled like a ship in a storm." *snort*
So then we come to the sex. Number one, the one detailed sex scene is not steamy, it's mostly annoying. She can't orgasm as he hits the back of her because she can't relax. I'll agree not being relaxed is a real pleasure killer, but what in the heck is "the back"? What is he hitting in there? It's certainly not her clitoris, so how she thinks hitting "the back" is going to stimulate an orgasm is beyond me. And let's not talk about the unprotected sex. WTF. You're a nurse.
Second to last: "I'm not like other girls." Kicks boy out: "other women don't do this to me!" - so this makes her special? "I don't excel at being a girl." - Um, yes you do. You have a uterus, 2 ovaries, get a period once a month and are accepting of your gender role, as assigned by the sex you were born with. You excel at being a girl. All of us "fake it" for a night out, with shoes and all that. Why do we require women to not be "uber feminine" in our UF in order for them to be "bad ass" enough to be lead characters? You know what, when somebody writes me a fucking UF series with a nurse who loves her pink scrubs, has a group of gal pals she shoe shops with when her budget allows it and who manages to further the plot without doing stupid things like wandering into the ghetto I will lose my mind with joy.
So last con I will mention (so many little stupid things to choose from!): The actual plot. It's okay, don't get me wrong. But it's just okay. It is soap opera-y, splashing back and forth and is mostly further by the character's ineptitude. That is not amusing. You work in a hospital ward for the paranormal - you could be a 100% normal, functioning individual and still have chaos and excitement. When you instead make you character TSTL it makes me want to weep huge crocodile tears.
So, for the TL:DR version - main character is stupid, plot is "meh", much promise, no delivery, for the love of god give your female characters kick ass girlfriends, or hell, just any girlfriends, and dear author I see that love triangle you are trying to slide in and I am cutting you off at the pass. That alone is going to stop me from picking up book 2.
Ooh, and almost forgot last LOL moment:
Very disappointed, but I'm considering this motivation to finally write my "veterinarian has werewolf patients" book.
On the plus side the character idea is interesting. Edie has a real job as a nurse. How often do you see that? Basically never. The medicine isn't too bad, and the author must either be in the medical field or have done some serious research. My one medical issue was the tranq gun loaded with propofol. While I can't speak to the other drug used, propofol is in fact a fast acting sedative. When it's given IV. A tranq gun into the muscle full of propofol is not going to drop you, unless the human medical world has some formulation we don't in the veterinary world, which I sincerely doubt. So, fun, real job, vs. fake stuff pulled out of nowhere - like it. The world itself is pretty interesting, even if the vampire politics thing is getting very old. The author brings in shifters, werewolves, zombies
Spoiler
(ew, necrophilia on that one)Oh, the cons list - there will be spoilers, I will mark the biggies. The character is TSTL. It's been a while since I've pulled that one out, but my god! She gets bit by a patient, which I guess as a veterinarian I see the risk, but when you're working with scary creatures you get paranoid and you are much more likely to be bitten by the ones that look sweet one minute and are killers the next. Not 10 pages later she's wandering into the ghetto, alone, with basically no protection. TSTL. When another character tries to say she's under a compulsion she says nope, I just make mistakes. Those aren't mistakes. Those are stupid, stupid, stupid actions.
Edie also exhibits one of my least favorite UF character traits that I hate beyond words: she has NO friends. The excuse is made that she's not good at friends. Considering, besides the stupidity, she has no weird social hang ups, the only real excuse is laziness on the part of the writer. Giving your character no friends is not character development.
So, this chick with no friends then goes out to the club, alone, right after she gets out of the hospital. As a woman, can I just say, wtf? Your average woman would never consider this. Ever been to a club and seen a woman there alone? Because I have NEVER seen this, ever. She has no money, she's poor (how does a nursing job that has only a small pool of employees to pull from and requires specialized training and is funded by richy-rich vampires not pay well??), but she goes to a club. She doesn't drink, she just dances. She picks up a random dude of course.
Spoiler
He will of course be a supernatural too! And we'll give him the name Asher because god knows there is no other series out there with a love triangle with a guy named Asher.So then we come to the sex. Number one, the one detailed sex scene is not steamy, it's mostly annoying. She can't orgasm as he hits the back of her because she can't relax. I'll agree not being relaxed is a real pleasure killer, but what in the heck is "the back"? What is he hitting in there? It's certainly not her clitoris, so how she thinks hitting "the back" is going to stimulate an orgasm is beyond me. And let's not talk about the unprotected sex. WTF. You're a nurse.
Second to last: "I'm not like other girls." Kicks boy out: "other women don't do this to me!" - so this makes her special? "I don't excel at being a girl." - Um, yes you do. You have a uterus, 2 ovaries, get a period once a month and are accepting of your gender role, as assigned by the sex you were born with. You excel at being a girl. All of us "fake it" for a night out, with shoes and all that. Why do we require women to not be "uber feminine" in our UF in order for them to be "bad ass" enough to be lead characters? You know what, when somebody writes me a fucking UF series with a nurse who loves her pink scrubs, has a group of gal pals she shoe shops with when her budget allows it and who manages to further the plot without doing stupid things like wandering into the ghetto I will lose my mind with joy.
So last con I will mention (so many little stupid things to choose from!): The actual plot. It's okay, don't get me wrong. But it's just okay. It is soap opera-y, splashing back and forth and is mostly further by the character's ineptitude. That is not amusing. You work in a hospital ward for the paranormal - you could be a 100% normal, functioning individual and still have chaos and excitement. When you instead make you character TSTL it makes me want to weep huge crocodile tears.
So, for the TL:DR version - main character is stupid, plot is "meh", much promise, no delivery, for the love of god give your female characters kick ass girlfriends, or hell, just any girlfriends, and dear author I see that love triangle you are trying to slide in and I am cutting you off at the pass. That alone is going to stop me from picking up book 2.
Ooh, and almost forgot last LOL moment:
Spoiler
Asher signs the card in purple ink with a little heart over the 'i'? WTF. It's fine when my men are a little feminine, I prefer that over the uber masculine dudes at this stage, but seriously? He writes like a 12 year old? That is really not romantic and it's certainly not even hot.Very disappointed, but I'm considering this motivation to finally write my "veterinarian has werewolf patients" book.
I'm usually unfazed by fantasy storylines and romances that challenge traditional expectations. But in this case, my enjoyment of the story was marred by some of the main character's personal and professional choices, starting with the unsafe sex with a stranger, with no thought to consequences.
Not a bad PNR. Edie (who names a PNR heroine 'Edie?') runs headlong into all sorts of danger and borders on TSTL. But she also borders on heroic. And she lets her brother treat her like a doormat. However, I generally liked her and found the world-building to be interesting.
A note on the cover: it makes it look a lot lighter than it is. This book is pretty dark.
A note on the cover: it makes it look a lot lighter than it is. This book is pretty dark.
This book was written by a nurse and you can tell. Technically accurate and compelling, nurse Edie works with the supernaturals on Y4, a hidden floor of County hospital. I wouldn’t call this book a romance. It’s a supernatural story with a few romantic elements mixed into it.
I’m giving it four stars because at times it’s difficult to follow. The story was good and I love Cassie Alexander’s writing. I don’t know if I’ll continue this series, but I remain a fan of hers.
I’m giving it four stars because at times it’s difficult to follow. The story was good and I love Cassie Alexander’s writing. I don’t know if I’ll continue this series, but I remain a fan of hers.